First Republican presidential debate to feature pro-crypto candidates
Candidates for the Republican nomination for the 2024 United States presidential election who have publicly expressed their support or disdain for certain crypto-related policies will be meeting for a debate for the first time.
At the time of publication, eight presidential candidates with the Republican Party are expected to appear in Milwaukee on Aug. 23 in the party’s first debate ahead of the 2024 election season. Former U.S. Presidential Donald Trump, the party frontrunner currently facing multiple criminal indictments related to his alleged role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and other crimes, has publicly stated he will not be appearing with the other candidates.
The Aug. 23 event will be the first time many of the Republican candidates have been in the same room amid political campaigns which may have targeted their rivals. Though it’s unclear if cryptocurrencies and blockchain will be mentioned at the debate, some of the candidates have explicitly mentioned plans to include the technology in policies should they win the party nomination and the presidential election.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is trailing in the double digits behind Trump according to several polls, will be the leading candidate among the eight contenders. In July, the Florida Governor promised to ban central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in the U.S. should he be elected president, citing concerns with giving the government authority over consumer payments. He previously signed a bill aimed at largely prohibiting the use of a federally-issued digital dollar in Florida.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who at 38 years old is the youngest candidate in the running, has advocated for the 2024 election to be a “referendum on fiat currency”. He spoke at the Bitcoin 2023 in Miami to announce his campaign would be accepting Bitcoin (BTC) donations, later receiving praise from X CEO Elon Musk as a “promising” candidate.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who gained popularity in the space for promoting pro-crypto policies in his city, entered the presidential race in June. During his time as mayor, he announced he would accept certain paychecks in BTC and was involved in the MiamiCoin token project for Miami residents.
Suarez said in a now-deleted X on Aug. 18 he had qualified to appear at the Republican debate. However, this claim was contradicted by GOP officials on Aug. 21 following an announcement regarding the debate participant list — eight names, with Suarez not among them.
Other candidates appearing on Aug. 23 will include North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., another presidential candidate who has expressed pro-crypto views and purchased BTC for his children, is running as a Democrat and will not speak in Milwaukee.
Related: Democrats’ ‘war on crypto’ will lose its key voters — Winklevoss twins
The 2024 elections in the United States could change the way the government addresses digital asset policies, with a party shakeup possible in the House of Representatives, Senate, and White House. Republicans currently hold a majority in the House, but all 435 seats will be up for election in November 2024. In the Senate, where Democrats have a slim majority, 33 seats out of 100 will be up for grabs.
In July, Republican lawmakers with the House Financial Services Committee passed through two bills aimed at establishing regulatory clarity for crypto firms. The legislation has not been scheduled for a full House vote at the time of publication, but partisan delays could push the bills into the next session of Congress.
Magazine: Opinion: GOP crypto maxis almost as bad as Dems’ ‘anti-crypto army’
Current laws in the United States do not explicitly protect open source software developers and create the risk of retroactive prosecution.
Jeremy Kranz, founder of Sentinel Global, a venture capital firm, said investors should be “discerning” and read the fine print on any stablecoin.
Politics
Labour deputy leadership candidate accuses opponent’s team of ‘throwing mud’ and briefing against her
Lucy Powell has accused Bridget Phillipson’s team of “throwing mud” and briefing against her in the Labour deputy leadership race in a special episode of Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast.
With just days to go until the race is decided, Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby spoke to the two leadership rivals about allegations of leaks, questions of party unity and their political vision.
Ms Powell told Electoral Dysfunction that through the course of the contest, she had “never leaked or briefed”.
But she said of negative stories about her in the media: “I think some of these things have also come from my opponent’s team as well. And I think they need calling out.
“We are two strong women standing in this contest. We’ve both got different things to bring to the job. I’m not going to get into the business of smearing and briefing against Bridget.
“Having us airing our dirty washing, throwing mud – both in this campaign or indeed after this if I get elected as deputy leader – that is not the game that I’m in.”
Ms Powell was responding to a “Labour source” who told the New Statesman last week: “Lucy was sacked from cabinet because she couldn’t be trusted not to brief or leak.”
Ms Powell said she had spoken directly to Ms Phillipson about allegations of briefings “a little bit”.
Bridget Phillipson (l) and Lucy Powell (r) spoke to Sky News’ Beth Rigby in a special Electoral Dysfunction double-header. Pics: Reuters
Phillipson denies leaks
But asked separately if her team had briefed against Ms Powell, Ms Phillipson told Rigby: “Not to my knowledge.”
And Ms Phillipson said she had not spoken “directly” to her opponent about the claims of negative briefings, despite Ms Powell saying the pair had talked about it.
“I don’t know if there’s been any discussion between the teams,” she added.
On the race itself, the education secretary said it would be “destabilising” if Ms Powell is elected, as she is no longer in the cabinet.
“I think there is a risk that comes of airing too much disagreement in public at a time when we need to focus on taking the fight to our opponents.
“I know Lucy would reject that, but I think that is for me a key choice that members are facing.”
She added: “It’s about the principle of having that rule outside of government that risks being the problem. I think I’ll be able to get more done in government.”
👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈
Insider vs outsider
But Ms Powell, who was recently sacked by Sir Keir Starmer as leader of the Commons, said she could “provide a stronger, more independent voice”.
“The party is withering on the vine at the same time, and people have got big jobs in government to do.
“Politics is moving really, really fast. Government is very, very slow. And I think having a full-time political deputy leader right now is the political injection we need.”
The result of the contest will be announced on Saturday 25 October.
The deputy leader has the potential to be a powerful and influential figure as the link between members and the parliamentary Labour Party, and will have a key role in election campaigns. They can’t be sacked by Sir Keir as they have their own mandate.
The contest was triggered by the resignation of Angela Rayner following a row over her tax affairs. She was also the deputy prime minister but this position was filled by David Lammy in a wider cabinet reshuffle.
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